Antifascism | Saving democracy where it began

How can the advance of fascism be stopped? This question was addressed by a more than half-full hall in Frankfurt's Paulskirche on Saturday. According to the organizers, 400 guests attended. The anti-globalization NGO Attac had invited the event under the title "Stop the Descent into Authoritarianism! The Role of Civil Society in a Vibrant Democracy." Among the many gray hairs, apparently belonging to the middle class, younger people could also be seen in the plenary hall.

The event was prompted by the CDU/CSU's small inquiry into non-governmental organizations, which, according to Attac, demonstrated the extent to which right-wing extremist narratives and strategies are now also being embraced and pursued by conservatives. At the beginning of the year, the CDU/CSU had submitted a total of 551 questions to the failed "traffic light" coalition government regarding the funding of non-profit organizations. Several of them had recently called for demonstrations against the far-right.

The opening speech was given by Heribert Prantl, the former editor-in-chief of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung." He began with a eulogy to the Basic Law, mentioning, among other things, Article 20, Paragraph 4, the right of resistance: "All Germans have the right of resistance against anyone who attempts to abolish this order if no other remedy is possible."

In a democracy, a small resistance must be consistently offered "so that large-scale resistance is never necessary again," Prantl said. Resistance in a democracy means: dissent, civil courage, standing upright, Fridays for Future, Black Lives Matter, or Sea Watch and Sea Eye.

He concluded his truly inspiring keynote speech, written in classic Prantl style, with the words of the Roman poet Ovid: "Happy is he who dares to protect with courage what he loves." That, he said, is a good motto for civil society. "Let's allow ourselves this happiness!"

Natascha Strobl was able to tackle the big question. "How do we stop the shift to the right?" was the title of her lecture. The Austrian political scientist and nd author laid an important foundation for answering this question: "Today's fascism is not the fascism of the 20th century," she told the audience. Today's fascism is more international.

There's some truth to this, for example, when you consider the Israeli government conference in March, which was attended by right-wing extremist politicians from all over the world. Or the former French presidential candidate of the far-right Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen, who makes no secret of her closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Or the AfD, which was openly supported by right-wing multi-billionaire Elon Musk in the last federal election campaign.

Strobl attempted to find constructive lessons for stopping fascism. Firstly, through defensive tactics. "Every election is an opportunity," she said. But at the moment, elections are primarily a defensive battle. This can certainly be interpreted as meaning that, in her view, fascism can simply be "voted away." However, she also supplemented this with offensive tactics.

In her view, people are good, she said to applause. What matters is solidarity, living together, whether with neighbors or in rabbit breeding clubs. It is important to rebuild what neoliberalism has destroyed over the past 40 years: common structures.

In a final panel discussion, IG Metall board member Hans-Jürgen Urban, Elena Kountidou of the new German media makers, Timo Reinfrank, managing director of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, and Natascha Strobel sat on the panel. And indeed, there was some slight disagreement: Urban had to at least slightly disagree with Strobl's previous presentation. He was unsure whether her definition of fascism was too broad.

And while Strobl had previously spoken of neoliberalism, the trade unionist criticized the underlying economic basis: "Anyone who doesn't want to talk about capitalism should also keep quiet about fascism," he quoted one of the fathers of the Frankfurt School , Max Horkheimer – naturally to the delight of the Frankfurt audience. Specifically, Urban took aim at the new federal government's current attacks on the welfare state, such as the relaxation of the eight-hour day, which was won by the labor movement in 1918. He sees a connection here with the rise of fascism. Therefore, it is necessary to start there and mobilize people. The question of production relations is central to this.

Timo Reinfrank of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation focused primarily on eastern Germany and the radicalization of the CDU. He argued that the AfD is not only strong here, but also has considerable influence. It manages to instill fear in the other parties. For example, the CDU in Thuringia, during the last federal election campaign, destroyed itself by chasing the AfD in its positions. While Reinfrank is in favor of banning the AfD, he added that one should not rely on it, as such a process would take years. Therefore, it is important to support the anti-fascist structures in eastern Germany.

At the end of the event, it can be concluded that hardly anything new was presented. The problems identified are familiar, and so are most of the proposed solutions. However, that doesn't necessarily make the event any less relevant. The audience, at least, appeared satisfied as they left the Paulskirche—some perhaps even complacent.